Settle the Score
by quicksiluers
Summary: The whispers of the rider were something that he'd heard constantly since they were joined together. It was the voice in the back of his head, when he needed that extra push to get his revenge. It craved vengeance, blood, it fed off of it as a life line. (One-shot, 4x08)


Soooo...That was a winter finale for sure! Can't wait for LMB and the Slingshot web series, but kinda bummed that Robbie left so quickly. Though I totally believe we'll see him again, just give it a few episodes for this new storyline to play out. Anyway, this is just a little something I wrote right after the episode. Enjoy!

* * *

 _Settle your score._

The whispers of the rider were something that he'd heard constantly since they were joined together. It was the voice in the back of his head, when he needed that extra push to get his revenge. It craved vengeance, blood, it fed off of it as a life line.

 _Settle your score so you can settle mine._

They had made a deal. Foolish maybe, but Robbie couldn't let the rider take over another. Mack was a good man, he didn't have the kind of hate in his heart Robbie did. Why let another innocent soul get corrupted. So he made his deal, when he was finished with Eli, he would settle the scores of the rider.

That moment came faster than he thought.

Listening to his uncle talk, how Eli didn't feel he was appreciated enough, how he had worked his whole life for this exact purpose. Robbie felt a betrayal and an anger grow inside him. Were he and Gabe not good enough for Eli? Their love for him, looking up to him, being a family with him. Did that mean nothing to him, that he would so easily throw it away for where he was now?

The whispers of the rider grew louder, even as Robbie struggled against the carbon that pierced his body. He felt himself being pulled towards that dimension again and he could feel the frustration of the rider. It was crying out, it's focus on Eli. His uncle thought he could play god, that he could create what wasn't there.

"I'm becoming a god!" Eli cried, his eyes crazed.

"You better be...because the devil is coming for you."

It was getting harder to breath in the box, the spikes though his body not helping. He can feel the sweat rolling down his face, the pent up energy from the rider. It wanted to break out, it knew how close they are to Eli, how easy it would be for him to burn.

Coulson appeared sometime later but he's hard to hear. It was like the other dimension they were in. He can see a chain on the ground near Coulson's feet and can see the frustration growing in his uncle. There was a plan here, Robbie knew that much. In the short time he knew Coulson, there was always something the man had up his sleeve.

All hell broke loose. He could see some of the others come running out from the sides and attacking some of the goons Eli had rounded up. His uncle was distracted, back to him, and Robbie took his chance.

The burning was something that took getting used to, but he had grown to accept it. He could hear his voice screaming, but the rider was quickly taking over, his skin leaving his skull and bursting into flame. It was like watching from a distance when the rider was in control.

He saw Eli get thrown at his feet, crumpled on the ground with something metal on his chest. This was the moment now, he could feel the quakes getting worse and worse. He knew he was running out of time.

"Robbie!"

The end of a chain came into his sight and the rider grabbed it tightly. Robbie could feel Coulson pulling on the other side, his body slowly sliding along the spikes. Self-healing was great, but getting hurt still felt like shit. He could see the determination on Coulson's face, desperation almost. How funny. They had known each other for a short time, but there was something about Coulson he could appreciate. Robbie respected him, someone who cared about the team he surrounded himself with.

 _He's moving._

Robbie felt the rider's gaze turn toward Eli, who had gotten the metal object off his chest. He was trying to get up, escape while he had the chance. They wouldn't let that happen.

The rider grabbed the collar of his uncle's jacket and yanked back on it, forcing him to stay. Robbie watched, the grip of the chain still firmly in his other hand. The quakes were getting worse and in his heart he knew. He didn't want to go. There was still so much to do.

But a score had to be settled.

The chain fell from his hand and he could see the shock in Coulson's eyes. It didn't matter. He would make his way back, no matter how hard it was.

The shaking didn't stop and something within the box slammed closed but all that mattered was Eli. Pulling him up, the rider looked his uncle right in the eyes and the fear that was in them. For seeing what his nephew had become. For not becoming the almighty god he thought he would be.

His uncle screamed, the fire quickly consuming his body and there was a flash of white light. And it was like before, when Robbie had been sent to that other dimension.

It felt like floating in nothingness.

His uncle wasn't in his grasp anymore.

It was him and the rider. Surrounded by the darkness they had escaped before.

He thought of Gabe. Oh Gabe. He didn't want to leave his brother alone. His brother that he adored more than anything in the world, who had so much to live for. Now he wouldn't have anyone. He could picture Daisy going to his home and telling his brother. The sadness in his eyes, her comforting him as he realized that he was lone.

Would he react that way?

He didn't get a chance to see him before this mission. Didn't get the chance to tell him he was alive. To talk out the issues, to try and make him understand. But would his brother even want to see him? Shame whelmed up inside him. It was so dark here, so cold.

 _We finished your part of the deal...let's go start mine…_

They had found a way back before. The rider knew how to escape, he had accomplished that many times. The shame faded away to determination. He would get back, find his way back to Gabe. He wouldn't leave his brother alone.


End file.
